Years ago I sometimes used Icelandics to pull logs. In West Virginia, horses
can go in the mountains where tractors and other equipment cannot go. The
phone company has used horses and mules to pull cable from pole to pole in the
steepest parts of West Virginia for years. I remember seeing horses who were
hooked up to logs at the top of a mountain, slapped on the butt and sent
unattended down the mountain, swinging wide around standing trees to avoid
getting hung up, and arriving at last at the saw mill where a bucket of oats
was waiting. I remember once seeing a retired logging horse who had been
turned out to pasture on an island in the Potomac River. He had the run of
this little island. There was a small barn with a huge mirror hanging on its
side. The old horse had no company, so he stood there all day, every day
staring at his reflection. Sad.
Annie
